Silo door structure



June 125 1934. O K E 1,962,278

SILO DOOR STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 5, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ffy.

, 9 23 26 v Inventor G.O.Kruqer 7 9 If: v 6

flllorney Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

1,962,278 SILO noon STRUCTURE Guss Oscar Kruger, Madison, S. Dak. Application August 5,1933, Serial No. 653,855

4 Claims. (01. 189-46) This invention relates to an improved door structure for a grain storage silo wherein said structure embodies a novel frame, a hingedly attached door carried by the frame, a novel retaining means for the door arranged onthe exterior and carried by the door and other specific features.

In carrying the principles of the inventive idea into actual practice, I have perfected an arrange- 1o ment embodying a substantially rectangular door frame of channel-shaped cross sectional form which is especially adapted to flt into the wall opening of the silo, together with a door hingedly attached tozthe inner marginal rim or flange of the frame or on the frame proper by making opening through flange for hinge and designed to swing into'tight fitting contact with said flange I to provide a substantially weather-proof connection.

As a general rule, in silo door constructions, the

door is bodily detachable. Hence, it is quite inconvenient and also unsafe to work with doors which must be completely removed and taken out when the door is opened. Hence, the need 5 for a permanently attached hingedly mounted door which swings inwardly and out of the way, and which obviates the necessity of storingthe door away and unnecessary to go down theladder to the ground when the door is needed as is ordi- 0 narily the case.

An equally important feature of' the invention is predicated upon the hingedly attached door and its frame, together with an especially designed retaining device which is permanently chained to the outside of the door, and which has its end portions constructed for cooperation with fastenings of a simple and expeditiously. usable type which, when brought into play, serve to clamp the door firmly closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a retaining device permanently attached to an inwardly swinging hingedly mounted door which device does not interfere with the opening and closing operation of the door and which device is conveniently located so as to be out-of-the-way when working in the vicinity of the door.

' A still further feature and advantage is predicated upon the incorporation in the structure of suitably attached steps which, when properly coordinated, form a part of a ladder and which steps are completely out-of-the-way of the door opening so as not to interfere with safe and con- -venient working.

Other features and advantages will become be fastened on the frame proper by cutting an more readily apparent from the following description and drawings. I

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an outside elevational view of a fragmentary portion of a wall of a silo showing the door structure and its parts in operative position.

Figure 2 is an inside elevational view of the assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 are horizontal. and vertical sectional views taken on the planes of the lines 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1.'

Figures 5 and 6 are detail perspective views.

In the drawings, the ,silo is denoted by the numeral '1 and in accordance with the present invention a metal frameof general rectangular form conforming to thecurvature or shape of the wall is set into the wall opening asshown particularly in Figures? and 4. The frame is here differentiated by the numeral 8 and is of channel-shaped cross-sectional form, the inner marginal flange being distinguished by the nu- =meral 9 and the outer marginal flange by the numeral 10. It is against the inner rim or flange 9 that the door 11 abuts. The door is in the form of a plate slightly larger in area than the frame and of appropriate material and curvature, the same having one vertical edge permanently and hingedly attached to the inner flange as indicated at 12. If preferred, the hinge may opening through the flange. The door is adapted to swing inwardly into the silo. If desired, ap-

propriate packing means (not shown) .may be interposed between the frame and door to form a more effective weather-proof joint. Also, a metal strip may be fastened on the inside edge of the frame to make double contact on the door C with this strip and the edgev of the frame will act as a lamb, on the hinge side of the door.

On the outside face of the door, I provide a pair of vertically disposed spaced parallel angle irons 13 to which retaining iron bar 14 is connected through the instrumentality of connecting chains 15. These chains provide the desired flexibility and serve to attach the retaining bar permanently to the door to be carried thereby.

The end portions of the bar, as shown in Figure 5, are bent upwardly laterally as at 16 and formed with keeper notches 17. The keeper notches are adapted to engage headed fasteners 18 carried by the vertical web portions of the frame as indicated in Figures 3 and 4.

The numerals 19 designate complemental headed fasteners which serve as rest members to provide the desired leverage for the ends 16 which fasteners are placed slightly below center, causing the part 16 to rest on the part 19 a little below the horizontal level of the part 16. By resting thus, it insures the door staying locked. This is a unique arrangement which expedites opening and closing of the door and insures safe and dependable retention of the door in closed position.

The two vertically superposed ladder units are distinguished by the numerals 20. Each unit comprises a pair of companion arms whose inner portions 21 are bolted or otherwise fastened to the frame as indicated at 22. The outer projecting end portions 23 are bent laterally downward or upward as the case may be and terminate in apertured ears 24 bolted or otherwise secured as at 25 to an iron bar or strap 26 which forms one step of the ladder.

By deflecting the outer end portions of the arms and locating the ladder steps in the positions shown, they are out of the way of the door and frame openings and at the same time are appropriately located to expedite climbing the silo in a well-known manner.

For the sake of distinction, the headed fasteners or bolts 18 are defined as keeper bolts and the supplemental bolts 19 as rest bolts. When thus located, these bolts or fasteners serve to accommodate the keeper notches 17 in the laterally bent end portions 16. Hence, all of the parts have been carefully selected and coordinated to promote durability, simplicity, economy, and such other features as justify the statement that the invention constitutes a novel contribution and innovation in this particular line of endeavor.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the illustrative drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding of the purpose, features and advantages, the explicit construction, and the inbinaticn, a silo surface having a door opening, a metallic door frame fitted into said opening, said frame being of channel-shaped cross sectional form with its inner rim flanges bearing against the inner surface of the silo and the outer rim flanges bearing against the outer surface, ahinged- 1y mounted door swingable into tight contact with said inner rim flanges when closed, and retaining means for said door attached to the outer surface thereof and cooperable with means on said frame to hold the door in closed position, said retaining means comprising a bar of a length approximately equal to the width of the door whereby not to interfere with the opening and closing of the door and so as to assume an outof-the-way position when the door is swung into open position.

2. In a structure of the class described, a door frame, a door hingedly attached to said frame, said door beinginwardly swingable, the vertical opposed members of the frame being provided with staggered headed fasteners, one fastener constituting a keeper and the other one a rest, a retaining bar fastened to the outer side of said door,.the ends of said bar being bent laterally and terminating in keeper notches, the keeper notches being engageable with the keeper bolts.

3. In a structure of the class described, a frame, a door hingedly attached to said frame, an angle iron secured to the outer face of said door, a retaining bar chained to said angle iron, the opposite ends of said retaining bar being bent laterally and notched, and pairs of co-acting headed fasteners secured to the frame for cooperation with the laterally bent ends of said retaining bar.

4. In a structure of the class described, in combination, a door frame, a door hingedly attached to said frame, fastening means attached'to said door and cooperable with the frame, a pair of ladder units, each unit comprising a pair of arms fastened to the upper and lower portions of the frame, the arms extending outwardly and being bent laterally and terminating in apertured ears, and strips arranged between and secured to said ears and constituting ladder steps.

GUSS OSCAR mUGER. 

